Lamar Jackson acknowledged Friday that he hasn't been playing up to his usual two-time MVP standard, but the bear has been poked.
Jackson clapped back at a Pittsburgh radio host over the weekend, following his three turnovers in the Ravens' loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving. Days later, Jackson laughed about the exchange and called it "just noise."
"I feel like most of us NFL players are built off noise – a little adversity, a little rivalry, the little tactics they try to do – but I don't worry about it. I play football," Jackson said.
But does it fire him up?
"Absolutely, absolutely," Jackson said. "I get a kick out of it."
For the first time in his career, Jackson hasn't thrown a touchdown pass over the past three games. He had one called back last week because of offensive pass interference, and another was fumbled just before the goal line.
Still, the Ravens won two of those games before falling to the Bengals.
"I'm mad, but I'm happy we got the wins when we did," Jackson said. "But this past Thursday – Thanksgiving night – I wasn't happy at all. We had turnovers, missed assignments, and we weren't us, so I'm not happy about that at all. If I'm not scoring a touchdown, but we're winning, who can be mad at a win? I'm mad at the losses."
Jackson's 64.8 completion percentage is down from the past two seasons. He ranks 24th in the NFL in passing yards per game (204.6) among those with at least five games played. His 29.3 rushing yards per game are a career low.
Asked how he approaches his work when he's going through a tough stretch, Jackson said he stays the course.
"I don't change up anything," Jackson said. "I still just be [myself] at the end of the day, and just do what I'm supposed to do, do my job."
Jackson Says Facing Steelers Is a 'Turnover Battle Game'
The Ravens are coming off a game in which they had five turnovers, and the Steelers defense has gotten the most takeaways in the AFC.
Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is no doubt stressing to his players to rip the ball away from the Ravens, just as the Ravens are focusing on protecting it.
"It's a turnover battle game," Jackson said. "The team who has the ball the most and puts the most points on the board, that's going to be the outcome of who wins the game, basically. That's all [there is] to it."
John Harbaugh: Mark Andrews Is 'Everything You Want'
Mark Andrews joined the exclusive club of Ravens players to get a second contract extension with the team, a testament to the organizational belief in him as a player and person.
On Friday, Head Coach John Harbaugh shared his perspective on why the Ravens extended Andrews.
"Mark is everything you want in a football player as a coach," Harbaugh said. "He shows up every day. He gives you everything he's got – I don't care what it is – if it's weightlifting, it's meetings, it's the biggest stage, whatever it might be, he's there, and he's ready to go. He's having a great season."
Harbaugh added that the Ravens are trying to work out extensions for other players, too.
Harbaugh, Eric DeCosta Meet New Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz
NBA superstar Jayson Tatum visited Ravens practice on Thursday and new Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz stopped by Friday.
Albernaz is the Orioles' fourth full-time skipper during Harbaugh's tenure: Dave Trembley (2007-2010), Buck Showalter (2010-2018), and Brandon Hyde (2019-2025).
Harbaugh has always built a relationship with Baltimore's other coach, and that started Friday with Albernaz.
"Great guy. I love the accent," Harbaugh said. "It's great having Craig here. We love the O's, and we're excited about the future for the O's."
Harbaugh chatted baseball with Albernaz in General Manager Eric DeCosta's office. They talked about why batters hit for lower averages these days and the rise of analytics in baseball. DeCosta and Albernaz are both from Massachusetts, so there's also a connection there.
"Eric kind of fell back into his Taunton, Mass. speaking dialect right there," Harbaugh joked.
DeCosta is also a huge Boston Celtics fan. Add in getting a contract extension done with Andrews, and it has been a good week for the Ravens general manager that he hopes is capped with a win over the Steelers.
